The Nightly Turbo: World Poker Tour Foxwoods, ESPN and PokerStars Integration Deal, and More
We know you're too busy putting the finishing touches on your Halloween costume to worry about navigating the information superhighway for the top poker news stories of the day. That's why we've done it for you. So what new knowledge are you going to take into the weekend with you? We're going to give you an update of the World Poker Tour event going on at Foxwoods, tell you about the deal that PokerStars and ESPN just signed, give you the scoop on the Tony Hachem's latest achievement, and more.
In Case You Missed It
Day 2 of the PokerStars.net European Poker Tour Vienna saw 278 of the 587 entrants all meet in the same room for the first time since the tournament began. A very familiar face ended the day at the top of the counts, but if we told you who, you wouldn't check out the recap.
Not all of us have monster bankrolls to be able to play $10,000 events, which is why it's perfect when a casino runs a smaller buy-in series like the Venetian Deepstack or the Caesars Palace Mega Stack. In the latest episode of the Sin City Series, Kristy Arnett gives you the scoop on both of these events happening in Las Vegas.
The first $10,000 Regional Championship of the 2010-2011 World Series of Poker Circuit was held in Hammond, Indiana, this week. A winner was crowned Thursday night, and it was Jim Anderson who navigated the stacked final table to take home the win. Find out more in our WSOP-C recap.
There are plenty of big tournaments happening online through the week. If you're looking for the results from some of the biggest ones, you might want to check out the Midweek Briefing.
There was plenty of action across the high-stakes tables on this week. Who was the biggest winner? You'll have to read the Online Railbird Report to find out.
We've been profiling the 2010 November Niners recently in preparation of the 2010 WSOP Main Event Final Table. Who's up next? Why, Filippo Candio, that's who.
Foxwoods Update
The World Poker Tour Foxwoods World Poker Finals is into its second day at the Foxwoods Resort Casino in Mashantucket, Connecticut. Registration was open until the end of the first level of play, with the final number of entrants hitting the 242 mark. Shannon Shorr, Bernard Lee, and Curt Kohlberg were just three of the players who took advantage of late registration after their final table run at the World Series of Poker Circuit Regional Championship in Hammond, Indiana, kept them from entering on Day 1.
First place will take home $548,751, which includes the $25,000 championship seat. There will be no repeat winner this year; however, defending champion Cornel Cimpan's ace-queen ran into the queens of his opponent. Among those who were eliminated from the tournament Friday include, 2010 November Niner John Dolan, Bernard Lee, Vanessa Selbst, Steve Sung, and Justin Smith.
At the time of writing, there were 135 players left with the hopes of making the final table, with Ben Klier leading the way. Jason Somerville, Erik Cajelais, Hoyt Corkins, Jason Mercier, Erik Seidel, Allen Kessler, Gavin Smith, and Tom Marchese are among those still in the hunt, but there's plenty of poker left to be played.
You can find all the updates and chip counts from the Foxwoods poker room, including some drama that went down with Mclean Karr at WPT.com.
New Software Coming to ESPN Poker Club
PokerStars.net and ESPN have signed an integration deal whereby PokerStars.net will provide the software for the ESPN Poker Club, a free-to-play poker section of ESPN.com.
“ESPN.com is one of the most important online sports venues, and ESPN Poker Club is entering its fifth year on the site. This agreement will enable PokerStars to implement its superior technology and integrity in operation, and we look forward to establishing more product innovation with ESPN in the future," PokerStars.net North American regional marketing director Joe Versaci said.
This deal extends the already existing relationship between the online poker giant and the worldwide leader in sports. The integration will debut in November — just in time for the 2010 World Series of Poker Final Table we presume.
“We’re excited to take the ESPN Poker Club to PokerStars.net, where we will be able to provide a better offering for fans, including a greater selection of games, prize options and an improved player experience," ESPN.com poker editor Andrew Feldman said.
Check out ESPN.com in November for the new software, and if you want to play on PokerStars, sign up for an account through PokerNews. You'll be able to take advantage of the exclusive freerolls we offer.
No World Series, No Problem
Third baseman for the New York Yankees, Alex Rodriguez was celebrating (?) not playing for the championship ring by taking in a little poker in Ivey's Room at Aria on Thursday. No, we weren't there, sadly, we don't have the rolls for that, but the trusty "broke but living the life" Jean-Robert Bellande tweeted Thursday night that he was, "Sippin' on Dom Rose w ARod at Haze," which was after A-Rod beat them "for 3k in Iveys room." And, as always, JRB's added the status of his bankroll at the end of his tweet. It's at $42k, in case you were wondering.
Back-to-Back Hachem
On Thursday, we told you that Tony Hachem was in the running to taking the honors of the PokerStars Australia New Zealand Poker Tour Player of the Year. Hachem did just that, by making the money of the ANZPT Darwin, after Aaron Benton was eliminated in 15th place. He has already made history with his back-to-back POY honors, and now, with 12 players left in the event, he's striving for another record: to become the first player ever to win multiple ANZPT titles.
He will begin in fourth place (187,000) on the chip leaderboard when play resumes Saturday, but he has Billy "The Croc" Argyros and 2010 Asia Pacific Poker Tour Auckland winner Danny "Brotha D" Leaoasavaii to get through, as well as the nine other players all looking to take home the title and $57,000 first-place prize.
Can Hachem make history again? Follow the action at the PokerStars Blog to find out.
Double Your Fun
The second hour of the three hours of coverage of the Double Poker Championship finals will air Saturday at 9:00 p.m. EDT on GSN. In case you forgot who is left in the match, the teams of Huck Seed and Allen Cunningham, and David Benyamine and Tony G were the ones that won their semifinal matches. They will be joined by semifinal runner-up teams of Howard Lederer and Phil Gordon, and Chris Ferguson andPhil Ivey. The two players will share a hand and alternate playing each street.
Don't forget to watch on Saturday at 9:00 p.m. EDT. If you miss the first airing, you'll be able to catch it again, later on that night, but you'll have to check your local listings for times.
Find out more at GSN.com.
Superstitious?
Gloria Balding caught up with Daniel Negreanu, who was the chip leader at the start of Day 3 at the PokerStars European Poker Tour Vienna. It seems that Negreanu is growing a mountain man-esque beard. Find out when he plans to shave it, if he plans to at all, in the video below.
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